Fatherly Instinct
by TheSilentButDeadlyOne
Summary: Frank Sunderland has been having strange dreams about his son James. Now he's sure that he could still be alive in Silent Hill. He along with a friend travel to the town to unravel the mystery behind James's disappearance. What awaits them?
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: I edited the ending. Not much has changed overall though.**

When he first opened his eyes, all he saw was fog looming all around him. "Where am I?" he grunted, scratching his head, tussling his gray locks. He stepped forward and realized that he was standing in the middle of a street, but he wasn't worried about traffic since it was dead quiet.

Having no memory what so ever of being here he just wondered aimlessly through the mist. He had tried to enter some of the nearby buildings but the doors were all locked tight and there were some points where he had met face to face with a big gaping hole in the street, blocking his possible escape.

"Hello!" he called out, hoping to find someone in this town. "Can anyone help me? Hello?"

Then, a shadow appeared idle in the mist in front of him. Relieved to find another human being he quickly made his way over to the figure. While approaching, he saw the person's appearance becoming more vividly to him. He was average and about his height with blond hair. He wore blue-jeans and black boots. But he paid more attention to the man's green jacket, whom he remembered seeing a lot 5 years ago before his son disappeared.

"James?" he whispered to the figure who stood with his back facing him. "James," he called again but the figure did not respond. With each step he took to the figure, he heard a static noise growing louder and louder as he got closer. He wondered where it was coming but all that really mattered to him was his son.

He reached his hand out slowly to the man. "James," he spoke again. Then the man's head twitched for a split second, his neck making a cracking noise. An air-raid siren blaring over the static. Black veins begun to appear on the ground and buildings. The skies suddenly turning black, looking like someone had poured black ink into some water. In a minute, everything had gone pitch black.

"_Dad_…"

----

"Mr. Sunderland?" someone had whispered softly. Henry Townshend gently shook the old man's shoulder, pulling him out of his dream state.

Frank blinked at the day light flooding into Henry's car from all around. He felt groggy from his sleep, but he still heard a faint static noise that slowly faded from his ears. He muttered something that Henry couldn't make out, then he briefly cleared his throat before speaking to the brunette. "W-what is it Henry? Are we there yet?"

The brunette gave him a slight nod and looked out his windshield. They had arrived at the area overlooking Silent Hill's forest and Toluca lake. The two men slowly exited the vehicle and looked at the lake in marvel. "What a nice view," Henry thought out loud, his body aching to get his camera and take a picture. But they weren't here to sight-see.

These past months, Frank had been having strange dreams about his son James. He didn't know why he started having them suddenly. He believed that he disappeared in Silent Hill and he was told by his old friend Douglas, who went searching for him, that he was nowhere to be found. And so that was what he believed until the dreams came. Maybe there was more to his disappearance?

So he decided to go to Silent Hill and look for his son. But the fact that he had never been to Silent Hill is where Henry's purpose lies. He knew he's been there before and the photos that used to hang in his old apartment is proof. Also, Henry owed him after the police had discovered Walter's body in his apartment. The police took Henry in under the suspicion that he committed murder and Frank along with Eileen defended him and managed to get him out of trouble.

"Mr. Sunderland," Henry turned to Frank whose attention was brought on a blue car parked beside his. "What's a matter?"

"This is his car," he muttered. Before Henry could asked, he looked up to his confused friend. "This is my son's car."

The vehicle looked like it had been left untouched for years, even the car door is still wide open. The interior was covered in dust and bugs were crawling inside, making it their home. "So he must've been here."

"There's no doubt about it," Frank replied, his voice sounding far away. He leaned over the barrier, looking out to the lake once more. He spotted the town beyond the forest. "We'll find my son."

They entered the woods. As the two men walked along the path, fog had quickly rolled in and took it's place around them immediately, obscuring the oncoming path ahead of them and so they continued slowly. Henry, being the most cautious because of his experience in the woods surrounding Wish House. In fact, these could be the very same woods. Shivers ran down his spine at the very thought.

The men continued in silence until they came across a gate which soon led them to a cemetery. Tombstones were in front of them. Henry didn't recognize this area, but his eye for beauty had compelled him to admire the tombstones lined up in the ground and the mist around it gave it an eerie look. He walked forward, but he immediately noticed that his footsteps are the only ones heard. "Mr. Sunderland?" he said, slowly turning around.

Frank had stood there, his eyes were dazed in reality. But when he stepped into the cemetery, a flashback had begun to play in his mind. He saw James, alive and well, arriving in the cemetery himself. He walked in the direction of the tombstones, but through the fog he noticed a young woman kneeling down and viewing one of the them.

Thinking to himself that she might live around here, he walked up to the woman. "Excuse me, I…" he began but was cut short when she let out a startled cry, quickly turning to face James who appeared to be just as surprised. He held up his hands indicating to her that he means no harm.

She looked at James and reluctantly spoke. "I, I'm sorry…I, I…I was just…"

"No, it's okay. I didn't mean to scare you," he gently assured her in an attempt to calm her. "I'm kind of lost."

The woman blinked and tilted her head in confusion. "Lost?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for Silent Hill." James felt a little embarrassed. Then he lifted his arm, pointing at the other end of the cemetery. "Is this the right way?"

"Um, yeah," she responded slowly, not so sure herself if it was the right way either. "It's hard to see with this fog, but there's only the one road. You can't miss it."

"Thanks," James briefly said, turning and begun walking towards the road leading into Silent Hill.

"But," the woman began.

James stopped and turned towards her. "Yes…?"

"I think you'd better stay away," she said, nodding at the suggestion. They both stood in silence, James was unsure of what she had said. "This uh… this town… there's something…"wrong" with it. It's kind of hard to explain, but.."

"Is it dangerous?" James asked, raising a brow.

"Maybe…" the woman said, then looking around at the fog. "And it's not just the fog either…It's…" But James raised a hand to stop her.

"Okay I got it. I'll be careful," he assured her and was about to turn and leave for the town once more.

"I'm not lying!" the woman spoke, almost sounding like a child.

James turned to her again. "No, I believe you. It's just…I guess I really don't care if it's dangerous or not. I'm going to town either way."

"But why?"

James paused, unsure if he should tell a stranger why he's here. "I'm looking for…someone."

"Who, who, who is it?"

"Someone…very important to me," James answered, his heart sank at the thought of his wife. "I'd do anything if I could be with her again."

"Me too," she said, looking at the tombstones. "I'm looking for my mama," James didn't see her reply coming, then she shook her head. "I-I mean my mother." He looked at her suspiciously, furrowing his brow. "It's been so long since I've seen her." She walked over to a tombstone, placing a hand on it as she continued. "I thought my father and brother were here, but I can't find them either…I'm sorry…It's not your problem."

"No, I… I hope you find them."

"Yeah, you too." And with those words, James walked away and continued to the path onto Silent Hill to find Mary.

-----

Frank stood there motionless, his glazed eyes wide open. Henry was reluctant to walk over to him, but he had to make sure he was alright. "Mr. Sunderland?" he said his name again, slowly waving his hand in front of his face.

He begun to blink as the flash back ended. He looked at Henry with an astonishment. "James was here too," he said,

Henry couldn't believe what he heard. "How did you know that?" he asked.

"I-I saw him," Frank stammered, pointing where Henry stood right now. "He was standing right where you are. He met a young lady here, then he left for the town," puzzled, he begun to stroke his chin while thinking. "What in the world would compel him to come here?"

Both men stood in the cemetery contemplating the situation. Frank looked back to what he just say and recalled James saying to that woman that he was looking for someone important. He tried to think who but the only person he could think of is Mary.

Mary. Thinking about her suddenly made Frank think of how depressed James had become when she became sick. He remembered once he went to the hospital with James to visit her. He had seen how much the disease had taken it's toll on her.

-----

_"Mary, your husband is here to see you," the nurse had announced before looking back at the men standing outside. "Careful you two. She's seem to be more sensitive than before, so watch what you do." She warned before moving away from the door for them to enter._

_Frank stood behind James who seemed tensed. James had decided before hand to buy a gift for Mary, a bouquet of flowers. They were yellow, her favorite color._

_Before entering, James turned to face his father. "Dad, I think you'd better wait out here," he said._

_"What? But why?" Frank asked._

_"Well it's… I…" James tried to find the right words to say._

_Frank shook his head and held his hand up to stop James. "It's alright, I understand son. I'll just wait out here okay?" James looked at him, the slowly nodded and looked over his shoulder at the door, holding Mary's gift closer to his chest. Is he afraid of Mary? "Well uh, if you need me I'll be right here."_

_James quietly nodded and turned to open the door. He slowly stepped through and closed it behind him. Frank leaned against the wall next to the door, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. He could hear his son's voice on the other side, muffled by the walls he strained his ears to listen carefully._

_"Mary?"_

_"What do you want, James," he heard Mary's voice, using an angry, bitter tone he's never heard her use before, at least not at James._

_"I, uh I brought you some flowers…"_

_"Flowers? I don't want any damn flowers. Just go home already!"_

_"Mary, what are you saying?"_

_"Look! I disgusting! I don't deserve flowers. Between the disease and the drugs, I look like a monster. Well, what are you looking at? Get the hell out of here! Leave me alone already! I'm no use to anyone. I'll be dead soon anyway. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow…It'd be easier if they'd just kill me. But I guess the hospital is making a nice profit off me, they want to keep me alive…Are you still here? I told you to go! Are you deaf?! Don't come back!"_

_The room became bone chillingly silent. Frank's stomach felt uneasy and he placed a had over his eyes, seeing James cringe in the room. He wanted to go in there and pull him out of that terrible situation but he didn't move._

_Then he heard footsteps coming towards the door. Any second he expected James to walk out with a dreaded look. But then he stopped when he heard Mary crying out to him._

_"James…wait…"she pleaded, the bitterness in her voice replaced with fear. "Please don't go… Stay with me. Don't leave me alone. I didn't mean what I said. Please James…Tell me I'll be okay. Tell me I'm not going to die. Help me…" she begged before breaking down into tears._

_"Mary," James whispered softly. Frank heard his foot steps moving away from the door. "Mary, it's okay. It's okay. You'll be alright," James paused for a moment, then he muttered again. "You'll be alright…."_

_-----_

"Mr. Sunderland," Henry said. Frank looked at Henry and blinked. "W-we should probably get going."

"Right," Frank nodded and both the men begun walking. Frank glanced over the tombstone to where the woman stood, then he turned facing forward.


	2. Chapter 2

After walking on the dirt road for a long time, they finally came upon a short tunnel and a gate leading to a concrete path. Feeling that they could be near the town, they increased their pace.

Henry's mind has been looming over James ever since Frank had asked him to do him the favor of accompanying him to Silent Hill. He rarely mentioned him too much, even when he was still living at South Ashfield all he knew about James was his name and the fact that he was Frank's only son and that he went missing five years ago. He really wanted to know more about him in the car ride but the elderly man fell asleep before he could bring up his curiosity. Another factor would be his shy nature and his conscience that kept telling him it was none of his business.

Henry looked at Frank who seemed focus on getting to town as soon as possible. He made a mental sigh and decided to go and ask him anyways. Better now than never.

"Hey, Mr. Sunderland?" Henry's voice was just a small airy whisper.

Frank looked at Henry and smiled. "How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Frank?" In all his life, Henry would have to be the shyest man he's ever met but he's sure he's had his fair share of fights. He remembered when he was locked in his apartment, when he finally walked out or rather limped out he was all battered up and his clothes had blood stains on them. He hadn't told him why he was like that but he wasn't gonna go and force an answer out of him.

"Oh, okay. Frank," Henry felt awkward calling him by his first name. "What's your son like?"

"Ah," Frank looked up at the sky, digging around for some memories of the good old days he and James had years back. "He's a good man. Devoted to his friends and family and will go out of his way to help anyone out," he remembered one moment when James was about 11, he saw a flower vase that fell from a third floor window and was about to hit the neighbor's little girl and he shielded her, letting the vase fall on him instead. "He can get a little reckless but he means well."

"He sound like a nice guy," Henry's comment made a smile appear on Frank's face who nodded in agreement. He couldn't help but noticed how fatherly Frank looked as he spoke about his son.

"When he married Mary, I knew he was going to make a great husband and I was right. He loved her to no end. But he begun to change when Mary died. I've never seen him so devastated in his life. At night, he'd lock himself up in his apartment and I'd hear him crying. It made me feel really bad to see a great guy like my son go through so much pain like that."

Henry couldn't imagine losing someone so important like that. If he lost Eileen, he wouldn't know what to do.

"Then one day, he got a letter and he just up and left. All he said to me was that he was going to Silent Hill to find someone and that was the last I saw of him," Frank sighed sadly. "He promised he'd come back, but he never did."

Henry begun to feel bad for bringing such stuff up. "I'm sorry," was his response. He felt that he shouldn't ask anymore questions, but there was one more that was still floating in his mind. "What does your son look like?"

"What?" Frank said, letting out a small chuckle.

Henry cheeks begun to tingle at the older man's response. "I-I just want to know what he looks like, just in case I see him then I'll know it's him."

"Oh. Well, all I can say is that he has blond hair, green eyes. He's probably about your height if I'm correct." Henry nodded, taking down the information in his mind. "Another thing, he should be wearing a green jacket. It's not so hard to miss him when he's wearing it, he practically wears that thing to sleep," he said, making a light chuckle, Henry laughed as well.

"Okay, I'll keep all those in mi…." Henry was cut short in his words. His hand flew up to his temple, feeling his head throb painfully.

"Henry? Henry, what's the matter?" Frank placed a hand on the brunette who was hunched over with both of his hands on his head.

"I-I-I don't know," Frank heard the strain in Henry's voice.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming from behind them. Henry, looking down had noticed a set of bloody footstprints that didn't used to be there. They go on to disappear into the fog and seem to be going in the direction of the town. _What the hell?_ The footsteps they heard were fading along with the headache it brought upon Henry. He was finally able to think clearly once more. He stood upright and looked at Frank who seem to have noticed the footsteps as well.

"Mr. Sun… Frank, what's going on?"

Frank looked back at Henry. "I don't know, but we'd better get to town if we want to find out." Henry agreed.

They continued on anxiously on the path. Their eyes occasionally going to the bloody footsteps. Both thinking the same thing, but Frank spoke for the both of them. "Maybe it's a clue to finding James?" Henry quietly nodded. "I wonder where it goes?"

The men came upon a fork in the road. The footsteps continuing to the path on the right. The left side however was blocked by a fence making travel impossible. So they had no choice but to go right.

Fortunately the path led them straight into town, the footsteps had ended in the middle of the road. "Where to now?" Frank asked Henry who was just as puzzled. He's never been to this part of Silent Hill before. Frank sighed and decided to try their luck by walking around, hoping that something will pop up eventually.

Henry had thought how maybe this is kind of similar to the worlds he visited when he was still trapped in his apartment. He half expected a monster to appear just out of the blue to come and attack him. In that case, he quickly surveyed the area for a possible weapon, anything blunt that he could use just in case.

But while he searched, he noticed Frank walking farther and farther away from him. "Frank? Where're you going?" He quickly jogged to the old man's side who stopped.

Frank lifted up an arm and pointed into the fog. "I don't know why but something's pulling me this way." Henry gave him a questionable look, but the older man just shrugged. "I don't know what could be this way, but let's just go with this feeling for now."

Henry said no more and just followed Frank in the fog. In a short while, Frank stopped in front of a fence. "Gut's telling me to go in here no doubt," he announced to the brunette who seems to be looking at the buildings. "What is this place?"

"Could be an apartment building," Henry replied, examining a pad-lock hanging on the fence with it's rightful key within it. "Someone was here."

"Could've been James. Let's go check it out," Frank pulled the gate opened and they stepped through. The men now having to decide on choosing which entrance to enter. "We should split up for the time being."

Henry looked at Frank, eyes wide in horror. "Are you sure that's a great idea?"

"It's probably not the best, but we'll cover more ground that way," he replied, but Henry still looked horrified. Sighing, he said, "Don't worry. We'll meet back out here in half an hour and if anything happens we'll go looking for one another. Alright? Now, you go left and I'll go right."

Henry opened his mouth to protest but Frank was already heading for his chosen door and disappeared inside. He still stood there in the fog, his gut filled with worry. He wanted to run after Frank but he didn't want to annoy him in any way. The elderly man was searching for his son now more than ever. Henry started to feel a little jealous of James. Henry never knew his father, thus he grew up without a male figure to look up to. But if he did, Henry wondered if he would go out looking for him if he ever went missing.

Henry was taken out of his train of thought when he heard a hiss coming from inside the building. His attention immediately flew to the entry on the left. He heard more hissing and as it grew he begun to feel a faint throbbing building in his head. He also heard footsteps moving in an irregular pattern inside. The brunette approached the door slowly, eyeing it as if someone or something was going to open it. Soon he spotted a rusty pipe propped up against the wall beside the entry and grabbed it.

With the pipe ready he reached for the door slowly and pushing it open. He fully expected a monster waiting for him inside but all he saw was a dark room that appeared to be empty but the pain in his head told him otherwise. He walked in slowly, pipe raised like a bat, he looked around the dark spaces for anything out of the ordinary.

Then he heard the same hissing noise once more, but this time it came directly above him. Feeling his stomach drop, he felt a sudden weight fall on his back, wrapping it's legs around his torso. Having dropped his weapon, he lashed at all directions in panic. He reached over his shoulder to pull the monster off. Grabbing a hand full of it's loose flesh, he tugged at it harshly.

The creature made a hissing noise in annoyance to Henry's actions. Henry can feel it convulsing on his back. Not wanting to find out what it was going to do, he back-pedaled into a wall trying to knock it off. With three more slams into the wall, he felt it's grip around his body loosen. He pried it's legs open and it fell back on the ground. Quickly, he grabbed the pipe.

Henry stood over the monster laying in the dusty floor. It was none like he had seen in any of Walter's twisted worlds, but it wasn't too big of a threat to him either. When it jumped on his back, he expected some grotesque arms strangling his neck but it had none what so ever.

Suddenly, it begun to twitch and at that instant, Henry stomped on what looks like it's face. Henry's headache begun to faded away along with the creature's last breath.

Looking down at the creature, the brunette knew that there are bound to be more of them. "I hope Mr. Sunderland is alright."


	3. Chapter 3

With the doors closing behind him, other than the sliver of light coming from the cracks, Frank stood in the darkness of the building. "I can't see a thing," he grunted to his frustration. He reached into his pocket to pull out a small flashlight that he would always keeps with him. Being a superintendent, he always keeps one in handy incase of black outs. He shone his light at his surroundings. There are stairs that led to the second floor and before them is a dark hallway.

Deciding to try his luck on the first floor, he took a step forward, but then he kicked something on the ground and sent it sliding a meter away from him. He pointed the flashlight at the object, seeing it was a bunch of papers folded up together. Frank picked them up and unfolded it, revealing to be a map of the apartment building. He smirked to himself, feeling glad now that he should be able to find his way.

He browsed through the map trying to look for his exact location, but he noticed some red scribbles and arrows written usually on doorways, probably hinting which one could and couldn't be entered, which made it more convenient for him. Now he shouldn't have the trouble of figuring out which doors he can access, unlike Henry who has to bear with searching every single door himself.

"I hope he's doing fine," he thought out loud.

A faint noise made its presence to the old man., he quickly pointed his flashlight in all directions, finding the source of the noise. His paranoia rising, he took deep breaths to calm himself down and he listened carefully to the faint sound. It was barely audible but he came with the conclusion that it may be coming from the second floor.

Looking at the map, he checked for any rooms he could enter. Then he heard shuffling noises from up above. Henry was on the other side of the building, so he could only assume the he wasn't alone. "Who's there?!" he called out, his flashlight shined on the second floor banister. A green figure suddenly dashed for the hallway. Not hesitating, he ran up the stairs, begging for the person to stop. "Please! I need to speak with you!"

Reaching the second floor, pointing his flashlight down the hallway. The figure stood idle at the very end, facing Frank. Now observing him from the front, he looked exactly like James when he last saw him. "James!" he called out to him. He couldn't believe that his son was in front of him, but he was unaware of why he was fleeing from him. James just stood still and unresponsive, staring at Frank waiting for the next course of action.

Frank moved forward and at that instant James opened the door beside him and entered it. Frank dashed for the room, the door still ajar he carefully opened it so he wouldn't alert James. He also realized that the noise he heard from the first floor had become more vivid to his ears. It was the familiar static from his dreams, coming from somewhere in the apartment.

Frank looked back and forth the room, seeing no sign of James. He entered the room. Not only did it lacked furniture but it's a mess. Wallpaper pealed off the walls and he can see some sort of red-yellowish grime on the walls and he'd kick dust with each step.

He listened to the static once more, leading him to one of the apartment bedrooms. It looked no different from the living room itself, but a lone radio sat in the center of the room. Frank picked up the object. "Wow, I haven't seen these radios in ages," he commented, turning it all over to inspect it. "But what's it doing here?" By the lack of dust, someone had placed it here recently.

He placed a hand on its dial to turn it off, but then the static suddenly got louder.

"What the?" Thinking that it was broken and of no use, he tossed it on the ground and turned to leave but something stood blocking his path. It wasn't the same figure that he chased after. The figure's arms were absent and it's torso shook like it was in agony. The light from Frank's flashlight made it hiss in irritation and it moved in on the old man. "S-stay back!" he ordered but his demands were ignored.

Instinct told him to either run or fight, but with the laying figure blocking his only way out he had no choice. He balled his hands into fists and he waited for the creature to come to him, but it stopped and it started shaking even more violently. Even with the static in the air, he can still hear a noise coming from within the creature and in a matter of seconds it opened it's mouth and spewed some greenish bile at the old man, who then jumped out of it's path but he accidentally dropped his flashlight and it broke when it met the ground, leaving the room in darkness.

The liquid made a splash on the floor, and Frank watched in horror as smoke rose from it and the wood began to melt before his eyes.

He got back up to his feet and didn't wait for it to come to him anymore. He walked up to it and as hard as he could, he punched it two times in the chest, hearing it's cry of pains. Allowing it no time to spew out acid again, he landed punch after punch, sending it back to the door way. He begun to feel exhausted but luckily the creature fell back and he landed one hard kick to it's chest. It twitched momentarily then it became motionless. Frank looked down at it, nudging at it's sides to see if it was still alive. "What the hell is this thing?"

He also took notice to the sudden silence. The static had disappeared when the monster was defeated. He picked up the radio again, hoping that it was still in working order. He assumed the static worked as some sort of monster detector. _This'll be useful,_ he thought, shoving the small radio in his coat pocket.

Then his lips were pulled into a smile. "James led me here to find this," he felt glad that his son, or maybe an illusion of him is trying to help him. Now more than ever did he feel determined to find out what happened.

----

Henry jogged down the second floor hallways, checking any door that came in his sight. He'd also occasionally run into a creature every corner he meets and he'd also know when one was near when ever his head began to throb to his displeasure.

Most of the doors were jammed and the rooms he could enter didn't hold anything of value. He groaned when his temples begun to throb painfully once more. Readying his pipe, he spotted the creature who was still unaware of his presence. To save energy and time, he made a run for it, being as quiet as he could. Reaching a corner, he sighed when his migraine slowly faded.

He continued again, reaching a hallway that was blocked off by a metal grate. He checked the doors near it. Finding another apartment he could enter.

He noticed a faint, rotten odor coming from the other side. Reluctant, he opened the door and an unbearable stench hit him like a punch to the face. He winced, his hand flying up to cover his nose. He looked inside and noticed a lot of flies in the room. "What the hell?" He gripped his pipe, even though his head didn't make any warnings of danger. Although he spotted a lone chair at the corner of the room where the flies seemed the most attracted to. He approached it slowly, his heart pounding nervously. Getting closer, he saw what appears to be a person sitting on the seat, but with the flies and odor in the room he can already assume that he was long dead.

He gazed at the man, noticing that he was wearing a green jacket. "Oh god," he gasped. He feared that this might be James, but he felt somewhat relieved when he took a closer look. He had dark brown hair, not blond like James. His curiosity fulfilled, he saw no more reasons to stay. Wanting to leave so badly, he dashed out slamming the door behind him. Taking a deep breath, the musty air in the hallway felt very refreshing.

A drumming made itself presence in the brunette's skull, but it was different from before. It was void of pain. He heard footsteps down the hallway.

"Hello?" he called out softly and heard no response. "Frank? Is that you?" He knew very well that it wasn't the old man, but his mind just denied it, fearful of who or what it might actually be.

A silhouetted figure passed the corridor. Henry, jogged after it, feeling the dull throbbing in his head increase. "Henry," a low, monotone voice whispered.

After making a turn at the corner, the figure was no where to be in sight. Henry sighed, then he jumped when a loud metal screeching echoed through the halls. He still felt the fast pounding in his head but the pain was back. He looked down the dark halls, empty with the exception of a few dead creatures he killed, their bodies left on the floor. Looking more carefully, he noticed light coming from underneath the cracks of one of the doors.

Just as he entered, a bright light shined in his face. He held his hand up to shield his eyes. Through his fingers, he glanced at the light. He then walked out of its range and saw that it was a flashlight. It was in the breast pocket of a life-sized doll dressed almost similarly to Henry which is what made the goosebumps appear on his arms, only the doll's shirt is gray and unbuttoned all the way down revealing a black undershirt. Its jeans were covered in some black and red stains. It had the same shaggy-brown hair but it was longer and tied back in pony tail. It also seems to be holding a kitchen knife.

The doll was slumped against the farthest wall in the room, with it's head leaning to the side. Henry eyed the flashlight in it's pocket and knew it would help him see better in the dark. He slowly approached it, afraid that it might suddenly jump up and try to stab him. He reached over and retrieved the clip-light with no problems. He sighed in relief.

Now with his new light, he shined it around the room for anything useful. He jumped when he suddenly felt a breeze on his thigh. He turned around to look at the doll which remained slumped against the wall. The doll's face had maroon buttons for eyes and someone had drawn a frown with a red marker, but what stood out the most is the bullet hole on it's forehead, the fabric and cotton inside is charred. Henry poked at it, the burnt fabric felt hot and jagged under his finger.

Then he heard the loud screeching noise again. Behind the doll were some windows that are boarded up, but there was a small hole above the doll. Henry peered through the hole, seeing the apartment's courtyard covered in fog. He heard the screeching noise once more and realized that it was coming from the yard. His eyes darting everywhere for the source, then he saw something moving. It moved slowly and heavily, each footstep making a loud thud. It revealed more of itself with each step it took towards Henry's direction. It looked like a man with an apron around his waist with blood splattered all over it, both his arms were also covered in blood, and on his head he wore a triangular helmet, almost resembling a pyramid.

Henry found the source of the screeching. He saw the man dragging a big, bloody sword behind him. It must've been sharp enough to leave distinct scratches on the concrete.

He watched quietly as the man moved through the fog. He made a mental note to avoid running into him for he could mean serious trouble. He kept watching the pyramid man trudging along the sidewalk, until the steel pipe slipped from his hands falling to the floor and rolling towards the center of the room. At that instant the pyramid man stopped, his helmet moving left to right meaning that he heard Henry's pipe fall.

Terrified, the brunette's heart began to beat rapidly. He held his breath, hoping that he won't find him, but he was on the verge of passing out when the man's helmet stopped, facing him. _No, no, no, no, _Henry begun chanting in his head.

The man just stood there, his helmet supposedly looking at him. Then it moved, once again facing the path ahead of him and he begun moving, now trudging at a faster pace.

"He saw me!" Henry panicked, moving away from the window. His head had stopped pounding moments ago, indicating that the area was clear but he knew that if he stayed where he was the pyramid man will find him.

Placing the light in his breast-pocket and retrieving his pipe, he ran out of the room and made for the stairs as fast as he could. But as soon as he reached the stairwell, he stopped immediately before falling into the large gap in the floor.

"What the hell?" he gasped. He knew that whatever made a hole this big would've caught his attention but he heard nothing other than the screeches from earlier. He directed the light into the hole, but he couldn't see any fallen rubble.

He turned, looking the other way spotting the stairs leading up to the third floor. He looked up and saw that the floor also met the same fate.

The holes were too wide to jump across so he had no choice but to return to the hallway and find another way out and he had to do so fast too because it was almost time for him to meet up with Frank back out front. He didn't want to picture Frank running into the pyramid man while looking for him, but he might be able to out run him since he moved so slow. But what if he tripped and fell? What if he ran into a dead end and had nowhere else to run? What if there's more than one?

Henry scolded himself for thinking about such things. "He'll be fine," he half-heartedly told himself. "Don't get so paranoid."

He sighed, and he begun walking down the hall, alert but still feeling worried at the same time.

**Note:If the part with pyramid head made some of you go "wtf" then I can explain. All I can say is that I am fully aware of what he represents, and that I didn't include him for no good reason. I have a good reason why which I won't go into further details until furthur chapters. Thank you! :3**


	4. Chapter 4

Henry stood out in the hall contemplating on what to do next. He had already went back to check the other rooms he had been in except for the one with the rotting corpse in it which he chose to avoid. He found a garbage chute and assumed that it led outside. Even though it might be filthy it had to be a better way out than nothing.

But before deciding to go with his idea, his light revealed in the distance a lone door that he missed at the end of the hallway, a sign on it read "fire escape." Henry brightened up when he felt that he found another way out. He ran up to the door, feeling a breeze slipping from the cracks.

He reached for the knob to open it, but something poked the inside of his palm. "What the hell?" Someone had left the key to the fire escape in the door-knob. _Who could've left this here?_

"I'm sorry," a soft voice cried. "I didn't want to…but he made me do it." It sounded like a child crying on the other side of the door.

Henry opened the fire escape door. He expected some stairs to go down the side of the building but he was shocked to find a window leading into another building. "What the hell is this?" he muttered finding it to be an unusual place to put a window, let alone a fire escape.

The window was about good distance to climb through. Henry looked inside first before entering. The room was dark but he had his clip-light. There he saw a little boy sitting in the middle of the room. He buried his face in the palm of his hands while he sobbed.

Henry climbed through the window and done so quietly so he wouldn't startle the child but the broken glass on the floor made a crunching noise under his feet. He looked down, scolding himself for not noticing the glass, then he looked at the child afraid that he might've been startled but he didn't move an inch.

Henry slowly walked in front of the boy, then he noticed a hand gun sitting on his lap. Reluctantly, he slowly knelt down so he could see his face.

"Little boy?" Henry whispered softly. "Are you alright? What are you doing here?"

The boy heard Henry and before responding, he wiped the tears that ran down his cheeks with the back of his hand. When he finally looked at Henry, he screamed. He jumped up, the gun on his lap fell in front of Henry's feet.

"W-wait! I won't hurt you!" Henry tried to calm the boy down who continued to back away from the grown man.

"I'm sorry," the child sobbed again. "I'm sorry daddy." With those words said he turned and ran off, leaving Henry confused in the room.

"'Daddy,'" he echoed the child. Chills ran down his back just by saying that one word. "Who was that kid?"

Then he remembered the gun that the boy dropped. He picked it up the gun, realizing it was no different than the one he used years ago. Checking the magazine he found some bullets. The most the gun could carry is ten bullets but there were only nine. He thought back to the doll he saw earlier and thought that maybe the boy shot it.

He tucked the gun into his back pocket and looked around the room. Henry figured that he was in another apartment building since the room looked a lot like an apartment. He found an open safe in the next room, a piece of paper with its combination on the floor next to it. He looked inside and found that it was already cleaned out. "Damn," he muttered disappointingly.

Finding nothing else interesting, he decided to leave. Although the hallway seemed quiet, Henry didn't trust its atmosphere.

He felt a weak throb in his skull, the pain felt like a small pinch. Then a familiar metallic screeching made Henry jump out of his skin. "He's here," he whispered, his heart beating wildly.

The screeching noise refused to go away. Henry knew already knew of the possible danger, but he wondered how the pyramid man had gotten to where he was so quickly. Then he embraced the theory that there could just be more than one of him, which made the brunette even more scared and worried on behalf of Frank.

Henry just wanted to get as far away from the noise as soon as possible but the locked doors had prevented that. Even the door he had used to enter the hall is locked tight. Each door he checked were locked and the more doors he checked brought him closer to the screeching.

Finally the very last door he reached, he heard the noises ever so loudly and his migraine now strong. He reached for the handle and twisted it. It wasn't a surprise that it was unlocked. Henry took deep breaths before finally summoning the courage to push the door, letting it fall open for him.

The room he saw didn't look like an apartment. It was just one room, but in one corner there were stairs leading downwards. Henry immediately noticed the bodies of creatures in a small pile in the farthest corner.

As much as he didn't want to, Henry walked inside. He wanted to gag from the damp, musty air inside.

He made his way to the stairs, peering down them before deciding it's safe. Suddenly, the hinges on the door behind him begun to squeak loudly. Henry turned quickly and widen his eyes in complete horror.

The pyramid man stood behind the door, pushing it closed with one hand, leaving a trail of blood on the surface. Then he moved in front of the door, blocking it.

Henry still didn't know what awaited him at the bottom of the stairs so he didn't want to risk meeting face to face with a dead end. So he side-stepped towards the opposite corner. The pyramid man's helmet followed the brunette's movements and so he trudged towards him slowly, dragging his bloody weapon behind him.

-----

The doors to the apartment's east side flew open and Frank ran through them and to the other side. He was on the run from two lying figures that stumbled onto the first floor without Frank noticing.

The old man ducked behind a corner near a dumpster and listened carefully for the doors to open again. He hid for about a few minutes before realizing that they weren't after him anymore. He sighed and walked out of his hiding place.

He glanced at his wrist watch and saw that it had almost been half an hour since he went inside. Frank leaned against the brick walk to catch his breath. He knew the pocket radio would warn him when there'd be a monster nearby but he didn't expect to find them every corner he turned. He did his best avoiding them as much as possible because the earlier encounter still left his arms sore and exhausted and if they did see him he would just kick them and run as fast as he could.

Other than the creatures he didn't really find anything that could help him and a lot of the doors were jammed.

"Maybe Henry had better luck on his side," Frank muttered, wiping off the sweat running down his cheek. Then it occurred to him: Henry isn't here yet.

Frank double checked his watch again and it was already past the half-hour mark. He glanced over at the doors Henry went through and waited in front of them, praying to god that he'll burst through them alive and well.

He checked his watch again and again, his arms crossing his chest and his foot tapping. While waiting, his mind suddenly wondered off.

----

_"Hey dad," a 13 year old James came walking into the living room. Frank stood in the kitchen making some sandwiches for the both of them._

_Frank, preoccupied didn't turn to face James. "What is it son?" he said, dipping a spoon into a jar of mustard._

_"Where d'you get this jacket from?" he asked. Frank looked over his shoulder to what he was talking about. James held up the green jacket that he wore during his time in the army._

_"That's my jacket," he said, now facing James, wiping his hands with a towel. "Where did you find that?"_

_"I was looking through your old boxes again and I found it buried under everything else. Is it yours?"_

_"Yeah it is. I wore that back when I was a soldier."_

_James moved the jacket away from his face, his eyes beaming at Frank then at the jacket._

_"Wow, really?" he chimed. "That's amazing!"_

_Frank laugh, a big grin plastered across his face. "I'm glad you think so son," then he noticed how James was staring at his old jacket, tracing the American flag patch sewn onto on the sleeve. He immediately read his son's mind._

_"Hey James?" Frank walked around the counter and stood in front of James. "You can have it if you want to."_

_"You really mean it dad?" Frank nodded. "Aww, thanks dad. You're the best!"_

_James proceeded putting it on right away. He slipped his arms through the sleeves. Frank stood back to get a better look. James' fingers poked out of the sleeves and the jacket all together sagged on his small frame._

_His son looked a little annoyed but Frank only laughed._

_"A little big on you don't you think?" Frank said and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Don't worry. In about a few years it'll fit you like a glove."_

----

Frank grinned to himself. He remembered that James still wore that jacket, even when it was still too big for him. He didn't care what others thought, he'd still wear it no matter what. Frank never really did get tired of seeing it him wearing it. It just proved to him how much James loved his father.

Then he shook his head, jumping back into reality. He looked at his watch again. Ten minutes had passed and he realized that Henry isn't coming out.

"Henry," he whispered, stepping forward and through the double doors.

**Sorry for the long wait. Had a writer's block in the middle of typing this. I will edit this later. Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for not updating. I got school and all to worry about but I still manage to make a chapter and update. I think this one is a little shorter than the others but I will eventually fix that as soon as I can clear my head. Anyways, enjoy.**

-----

The Pyramid man's movements were slow but threatening. Henry backed away to keep himself from a possibly painful end but stopped when he felt the wall touch his back. _Damn, _he cursed in his mind.

His eyes darted all over the room, trying to find anything he could use to his advantage. The room alone is already cramped but with the staircase, it did not leave a lot of room to run or fight. Close combat probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to do and using a pipe against the enemy's sword would prove to be an even dumber idea and he really didn't want to resort to using his gun because of his scarce supply of ammo.

The pyramid man paused just a few meters away and the way he moved his knife around meant an attack but Henry took notice to how slow his assailant's movements are.

Henry immediately sidestepped when pyramid man swung his knife down, hitting the ground with enough force to leave cracks.

Henry saw his chance and lunged forward, pipe raised high for an attack. He swung down at the Pyramid man's helmet as hard as he could, hearing a low, hollow noise from within.

Although the attack seemed successful, it did nothing to faze the enemy. Henry had hit him precisely with all he had on the head no doubt. Even while wearing a helmet like that, it should have shocked him.

At that moment, Henry almost didn't see Pyramid Head lift his weapon for another attack.

Henry leapt back but the Pyramid man's attack knocked his pipe out of his hands and sent it flying down the stairs making loud, ringing noises as it met the wall and floor.

"No," Henry breathed, feeling his heart sink. Still hearing the pipe rolling down the steps. Suddenly he felt something hard and flat hit his chest. The force sent him flying backwards towards the wall, knocking the breath out of him. He bounced off the wall and fell forward landing flat on his stomach. He moaned, clutching his chest where it hurt the most and his breaths came short and uneven.

Then Henry heard heavy footsteps in front of him, followed by the screeching of metal. He knew that this is the end. He closed his eyes, waiting for the Pyramid man's knife to come down on him.

The entire room suddenly became very silent, aside from Henry's breathing. He opened his eyes and gazed upwards.

The Pyramid man stood over him, the tip of his helmet pointed at Henry. _What is he doing? _He waited for some attack but the pyramid man just stood there.

Henry slowly got up on his knees, never taking his eyes off Pyramid man who still did nothing.

"Why…" Henry begun to question.

Suddenly an air raid siren grew in the distance. A sharp pain shot through Henry's skull at the same time. The pain grew stronger as the siren grew more deafening, it felt like the sirens were coming from right beside him.

He clutched his head and fell forward once more, feeling his forehead touching the wet floor. Feeling the pain grow stronger and stronger he finally begun to scream at the top of his lungs in pure agony. He felt as though his head going to explode.

Although it was barely audible, he heard footsteps and screeching through the loud siren. The Pyramid man had begun walking towards the steps. Henry could hear him going down and his sword making a loud noise when as met each step. Then his helmet turned towards Henry one last time before disappearing.

Seconds later the air-raid siren slowly begun to die down, Henry's migraine along with it. Though it faded in only less than a minute or two, it felt like an eternity to the man. His body begun to relax and he removed his hands from his head. He could still hear heavy footsteps and screeching but then he heard a door opening then closing. A faint breeze blew up from the stairs and brushed against Henry's face.

The pain finally subsided. A wave of exhaustion came crashing over Henry and he felt his eyelids grow heavy. He tried to fight back the desire to sleep but he eventually surrendered and lost consciousness shortly after.

----

"_Do you need help with those Henry?" a woman asked, looking at the young boy beside her, trying his best to carry three grocery bags at once._

"_It's alright mom, I can handle it," Henry tried to hide his struggle with a weary smile. His mother didn't buy it but she knew how stubborn her son could be._

"_Okay, but tell me if you need any help," she said._

"_Alright,"_

_They stopped at a corner waiting for the signal to cross the street. Henry's arms begun to ache when he heard someone calling his name._

"_Henry! Henry!" A boy called out, running in their direction with a big smile and a wooden bat in his hand. Henry recognized him immediately, he was one of the few friends Henry made in school. _

_The boy waved at Henry who returned the gesture with a smile and a nod. "Hey Noel," he greeted him._

"_Hey Henry, look at what my dad bought me!" Noel held up the wooden bat he had in front of Henry to see. "Neat isn't it? Dad bought it so we can practice sometimes."_

"_Hey Noel!" A man in the distance called out. A man came running by, stopping in front of the boys. "Don't run off like that. You nearly had me worried."_

"_I'm sorry, I just wanted to show Henry my new bat,"_

_Noel's father looked at Henry and then his mother. "Oh. Hey Henry. Good afternoon Ms. Townshend," he greeted them politely, and then looked at his son. "Let's get a move on Noel. Mommy's waiting for us at the park."_

"_Okay," Noel replied and looked at Henry, the smile he wore never changing. "Dad's taking me to play baseball with my new bat. I'll see you on Monday Henry. Bye!"_

_Noel and his father walked back in the opposite direction hand in hand. Henry watched them, feeling jealous and empty inside._

"_Henry?" Ms. Townshend noticed his staring and begun to feel worried. "Is something wrong Henry?"_

"_Mom, can I ask you a question?" He asked, looking up to his mother._

_She knelt down to his level and smiled. "Of course you can. What is it?"_

_Henry didn't say anything first, then his question came. "Do I have a father?" _

_The smile disappeared from Ms. Townshend's face when she heard his question. She looked into her son's green eyes who waited patiently for her response. _

_For the first time Ms. Townshend couldn't read her son's expression._

-----

He could hear footsteps. However, they weren't heavy like the pyramid man's and they sounded more human. But whose is it?

The footsteps stopped right beside Henry. He heard fabric shifting and someone blowing into the air. Soon the smell of cigarette smoke fell over him.

Henry opened one eye, only to be blinded by the pocket light. He slowly opened both eye this time, his eyesight blurry from sleep but he could see clearly that someone was with him in the room.

Henry looked up to see who it was. His light only managed to reveal the man's shoes, which were covered in dirt and scratches. The man's face and identity remained hidden in the dark.

"Get up," the figure ordered in a stern tone. Then he reached under Henry, turning the light off, leaving the room in darkness. "Hurry up, he'll be here soon."

"W-who?" Henry's voice was just a dry whisper.

The man got up and walked over towards the steps like how pyramid head did only more fluid and casually. He paused in front of the steps to suck on the cigarette he had with him. Then he began walking down the steps, his shoes making loud taps on each step. _Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!_ They got softer and softer. Then he heard a door opening again, light from below lit only a part of the room.

Henry finally got up to his feet. A rush of vertigo over came him but quickly passed. He crossed over to the edge to gaze down the steps. A slight breeze brushed his face and daylight seemed to be coming from the open door from down below. Henry's lips curled into a small grin of hope. He went around to the top of the steps and was about to take the first step down until he heard the door behind him open.

He turned and saw Frank walking into the room. Both men locked eyes, both feeling a wave of relief.

"Henry?" Frank gasped stepping towards the younger male. "Henry, I thought something might've happened to you."

"Frank, how did you….b-but I thou…." Henry could not find the right words to say. He felt glad to see the old man alive and well but he was also confused.

"What's the matter?"

Henry took a deep breath. "I'm just surprised to see you here. I mean, how did you get across that hole?"

"Hole? What hole? I didn't see any hole Henry."

"But that can't be. There's no way a hole that big could've just disappeared like that."

Then a hissing static begun to arise from the room. At the same time, Henry felt a faint throb in his head. Frank glanced at the pocket holding the radio, then he turned to Henry. "We'd better get going."

Henry didn't object.

Both men began their descent down the stairs. Henry immediately spotted his steel-pipe and quickly scooped it up. They ran out the opened door and immersed themselves in the town's fog once more.

-----

**Critic plz. I just know this chapter needs it. =_='**


	6. Chapter 6

Frank and Henry climbed down the metal stairs immediately and stepped onto the pavement. Frank looked back at the door to make sure they were really in the clear and sighed when he saw nothing following them. Then he turned when he heard Henry groan. A hand clutched his chest while his face scrutinized the pain he was in.

"Are you okay?" Frank asked, placing a hand on Henry's trembling shoulder. His brown hair shook when he nodded.

"I'll be fine," Henry breathed and looked up at Frank through his brown hair. "I-I just need a minute."

"What happened to you?" Frank asked.

"I…I ran into some trouble," Henry replied, slowly fixing his posture as the pain faded. "There was this…pyramid man that attacked me."

"Pyramid man?" Frank echoed in disbelief.

"Y-you didn't see him did you?" Henry whispered, and paused a second for Frank's response but he just stared at him. "He has this big, triangle-shaped helmet," then he lifted a hand to his head to better his explanation through the gesture. "And…and…he has this big, bloody sword with him. B-but you didn't see him at all right?" Frank shook his head and Henry released a short but relieved sigh. "Good."

As much as it was hard to believe Henry he still looked terrible. The front of his white button-up shirt appeared wet with a tan-colored stain on the fabric. Dust and some rocks clung to his coat but were removed when Henry inspected himself and began dusting himself off with his free hand.

While Frank watched, he noticed Henry's hand trembling slightly.

"Will you be alright?" Frank asked.

"Yeah," Henry breathed, lips forming a weak smile.

_Lair_, Frank's thoughts sighed. Then Henry's head lifted and he begun looking around. "What's wrong?"

"Do you hear that?" Henry whispered. Frank perked his ears to find what the younger man is hearing.

It was faint but his ears could barely make out the sound of foot-steps. Frank peered over Henry's shoulders for a quick second and saw a shadow off in the distance disappearing into the fog.

"That shadow…" Frank muttered. Henry blinked and turned to find what the old man saw. "Henry, let's go."

Henry didn't object, he had seen the shadow too but only for a brief moment and thought about the man he encountered when he woke up. Maybe it was him? He couldn't have gotten too far.

Both men continued down the alley, since no other path was available and they didn't want to think about going back into the apartments.

They walked in silence through the fog until they came upon the entrance to Rose Water Park. Separate thoughts ran through their minds as they gazed at the sign.

"I remember this place," Frank muttered.

"I thought you never been to Silent Hill?" Henry questioned and the older man looked at him.

"I meant I remembered James telling me about this park," Frank looked back at the sign. "During their vacation they called me. James told me about how they spent the entire day here."

Henry stared at the sign again and suddenly felt strange. He felt as though something is tugging at a part of him he can't really describe. He had even felt this way when he came here years ago. He tried to shake the feeling off but it still lingered as both he and Frank continued in to the park.

The fog became a lot denser, it was hard to see what was ten feet away. However, they just continued straight forward until they came to the area overlooking Toluca Lake. Henry gazed at the lake. Years ago he felt attracted to it, captured by the serene waters. But when he looked at it now, he felt a cold chill going down his back. A part of him urged his body to leave the area but another part him told him to stay and watch the ripples on the surface of the waters.

Henry rubbed an arm when he felt goosebumps rising. Maybe if it weren't so foggy he could see the mine near Wish House overlooking the lake.

"Now I see why James and Mary spent the day here," Frank said, placing a hand on the cold metal railing. "It's so peaceful out here."

Henry looked at Frank and felt that he had to say something back. He leaned over the railing and finally a question came to mind.

"Hey Frank?" the older man broke his gaze and turned to Henry. "You've never been to Silent Hill before right? Why?"

"I, uh," Frank looked down, thinking. "Gee Henry, I don't really know why actually. It's just… I just never really wanted to come here. Ever." Meanwhile, Henry didn't know why he felt baffled at Frank's reason. Silent Hill used to be a famous tourist resort and even the town's name drew Henry to it, even as a child. "It's just that whenever I think about it, I get this…this bad feeling, like this town is bad news, you know? When I found out that James and Mary were vacationing here, I got upset." Frank paused for a moment, feeling the need to look back at old memories again but he shook the desire away and looked at Henry. "Anyways, we shouldn't waste anymore time. Let's get going."

The men quietly started down the walkway. Glancing back and forth at the lake. They thought all was quiet until they heard a click. By what looked like a hotdog stand a shadow stood leaning against the railing, probably staring out into the lake while holding some sort of a small box in front of him. Although the mist obscured most of his features, they could tell by his shape that he was in fact a male. Frank and Henry stopped in their tracks for a moment and looked at each other.

"Could that be…?" Henry whispered.

Frank shrugged and replied, "Let's find out," then he turned to the figure. "Hey!"

However, before they could, the figure stood upright and began walking away. He looked over his shoulder to glance at the men behind him and nodded his head, beckoning them to follow before continuing into the fog.

They were hesitant, Henry being the most because of the faint throb in his head. Frank's radio also emitted a whisper of static but his old ears prevented him from noticing it.

"Should we follow him?" Henry asked.

"There's no turning back now," Frank breathed, walking forward with Henry close by.

The man was nowhere to be found within the park area and so they decided it was time to leave Rosewater Park.

Frank and Henry were back on the foggy streets. This time however it wasn't void of life. Laying figures could be seen trudging awkwardly though the fog looking for prey, this time there seemed to be more than one traveling together.

The wide streets made it easy to maneuver around them without their notice. They stumbled onto Jacks Inn and ducked behind a stairway. Henry surveyed the lot first and spotted a lone laying figure standing idle near a parking garage. Survival instincts kicked in and as much as he didn't want to, he didn't want to take any risks by letting it live.

"Wait here," Henry said to Frank. He crept towards the creature who remained unaware of Henry. He could feel the dull throb in his head grow, as he got closer. Then he raised his pipe high and was about to swing down at the creature before he heard a low growl somewhere. He froze as soon as he heard it and his heart had skipped a beat. He turned his head left and right looking for the source of the noise.

Henry knew what that growl was. He had heard it so many times years ago. Then he heard a low snarl as a four-legged creature came running out of the fog and stood beside the laying figure. Its vicious growl alone made Henry think of the numerous sniffers he had encountered but this one was different. It did not have the long, saliva-drench tongue hanging from its mouth. It's a lot smaller than a sniffer as well and its skin is an ash-gray color with clumps of it sagging from it's body, some actually falling to the ground in little chunks.

The laying figure glanced at the pup questioningly and hissed at it while the pup returned its gaze and barked in response. Henry blinked at what he saw. _Are they talking to each other?_ Then he laying figure turned and saw the brunette standing behind him. At first it just stared at Henry, then it immediately ran towards him. Henry reacted quickly, smashing its head in with his pipe but the force behind the hit wasn't enough to send it down. Instead it just staggered, taking a few steps back. Before it recovered, Henry swung at it again and knocked it off its feet. He thought that stomping on it would have been necessary but it didn't twitch or anything.

Now Henry focused his attention at the lone pup. It crouched low, its mouth revealing yellow fangs as it growled. Then it jumped at Henry's leg, ready to sink its teeth into human flesh.

The pup's movements were far quicker than a sniffer. Henry jumped back, evading the attack and the pup barked in irritation. Henry didn't allow it another chance to attack so he swung his pipe like a golf club and sent the pup flying sideways. It dragged against the ground, clumps of its skin coming off. When it came to a full stop, it remained on its side.

Henry approached it slowly, thinking that it still might get up to attack. It whimpered in pain like any animal would if were hurt. Hearing it cry like that almost made Henry feel sorry for it until it raised its head up to emit an ear-piercing howl.

The pup's howl echoed though out the lot. Henry's hands flew up to cover his ears. He was totally unaware of what it was doing until he heard other howls around him. In less then a minute the howls were reduced to multiple growls from all directions. Then, one by one he can see other pups appearing though the fog. Some of them rushed to the injured pup and licked its face to comfort it while the others were crouched around Henry, ready to defend their fallen sibling.

-----

Frank waiting by the stairs patiently for Henry to return. He had gone off somewhere and told him to wait. He didn't object though because he felt a little tired.

He began to look all around despite the fog in the air. He spotted a dog house with a red roof in the distance. He thought nothing of it first until he saw something moving inside it. Judging by the fact it was a dog house he assumed that it was just a dog inside,but what would a dog be doing in a town like this? Could it a someone else's dog? Could people still be living here? Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to take a quick look.

Before going, he waited another minute in case Henry came back. Still seeing no signs of the younger male, Frank jogged over to the dog house. But as he got closer, he heard white noise coming from his pocket and he immediately stopped, eyes still on the dog house.

He could see what appeared to be a lump of charcoal-colored flesh squirming inside. Frank approached it carefully and the white noise grew louder. He wrinkled his nose when a horrible stench flew up his nose. It smelt like a mixture of wet dog, burnt wood and something rotten.

Frank's stomach dropped when the lump of flesh got on its four legs and slowly exited the dog house. The creature looked like someone had set fire to a fully grown Doberman. Every time it moved a limb its charred skin would crumble away leaving traces of soot near it's feet. _What in the world...? _Frank stared at it at marvel and fear.

The Charred lifted its head, the skin on it's neck crumbling to the gesture, then it begun to sniff the air while slowly moving its head left to right. It continued to sniff the air for intruders while it trudged forward towards Frank.


	7. Chapter 7

**Feel bad for not updating in a while. =_=' Hope you enjoy. **

---

The charred approached Frank slowly while it sniffed the air. Frank didn't know what to do at first but his mind and legs where telling him to run for it so that's what he did. He turned and bolted for the stairs but he immediately panicked when he heard a low growl from behind and what sounded like a dog running.

Frank had only taken five steps before the charred jumped on him. He turned to see the creature in the air and collide with his body. He immediately stumbled backwards and hit the ground hard.

The creature bore yellow teeth and tried to bite at the old man's face but he held it back by holding onto it's neck. He could feel it's skin crumble onto his fingertips and soot got on his face and clothing as he struggled.

The struggle had not gone on for long and Frank can feel his energy depleting quickly and he found himself already out of breath. He had to think of something fast. He lifted one leg up and place a foot on the charred's stomach and tried to pry it off his body.

Even with his waning strength he could see the beast's mouth slowly drifting away from his face. Finally, he forced it off and kicked it to the side but he didn't send it very far and as soon as it hit the ground it got back up to it's feet in a flash.

It crouched, growling loudly and it ran for the old man again, soon the two were back to where they started: Frank clinging onto the monster's neck to keep it away from his face.

Suddenly, over the growls and static he heard a third noise in the air. Footsteps. But what kind they were remained a mystery due to the mixed sounds. Then he heard a another foreign sound. It sounded it something dragging across the ground.

"Hey," a low voice echoed, followed by the sound of wood dragging across the concrete. Frank turned to see a wooden plank sliding in his direction, stopping about a meter away. He looked up to the fog and barely caught a glimpse of another shadow disappearing. Before he even asked, a threatening bark pulled him back into focus.

Frank looked back at the plank and the Charred, slowly raising one foot and placing it onto the underbelly of the beast, and in one kick he sent it to the side once more but it didn't go very far, in fact it landed closer than before. It immediately recovered and was already crouched for a third strike.

The old man immediately grabbed the plank and tried to get back on his feet, but the Charred had already dove in for another attack. Frank held the plank up in a defensive pose and the beast caught it in his mouth. The fight had turned into a game of tug-o-war.

The beast shook its head violently, trying to wear the old man down even more. In between struggles, both sides grunted in frustration. Frank, being on his knees had a better chance of holding his ground but it wasn't enough to ensure victory or his life for that matter. He had to think of a way to shake the dog off.

"Henry," he grunted. "Where are you?"

He couldn't see the younger male anywhere through the fog. He had hoped that maybe by some miracle that he could've at least hear his voice but no one did. Maybe it was a good thing he couldn't be heard. The last thing he really needs is another one of those things to hear him and try to kill him.

Splinters on the plank were hurting the old man's hands, increasing his need to let go but he vowed he'd give the damn creature hell, what ever it took to find his son.

Using the last of his might, Frank drew the creature in, it's feet were dragged against the ground and closer to the old man against it's will. It was so focused on keeping its ground that it didn't anticipate the harsh blow to the face.

It's jaws released the plank and it cried out after being hit. It withdrew a few steps backwards but Frank didn't allow it to recover, not even a second. He immediately ran towards it and swung down at its head as hard as his tired arms would let him. The creature's soot-like skin flew in all directions as it feel to the ground, and finally the last sound it would ever emit was the sound of it's neck snapping.

Frank withdrew his foot, his shoe now covered in black dust. He looked over the creature's corpse and imagined what James and Mary had to face when they came here. Did they see the same demons as he did? Did they had to fight too?

"Damn," Frank sighed, kicking the dust off his shoe. The pain radiating from his hands brought him back to reality. He looked at his weapon. A blessed gift, he thought. If someone hadn't kicked it in his direction the situation would have turned out disastrous.

As for that shadow he kept seeing. It bugged the hell out of him not fully knowing who it is. He'd like to believe it's James, but ….

"Frank!" Henry's voice screamed off in the distance.

The old man turned in the direction of the voice, his hand clenching at his weapon._ He's in trouble!_ Immediately he ran for the brunette's location.

---

The pups all growled in unison. One by one they lunged at Henry for the kill, and each one would be sent backwards with a kick. It pained Henry to have to do such a thing, even though they were of another world they weren't as grotesque as the previous creatures he had face. Right now, it feels more like animal abuse than a fight for survival.

When one went down, it would cry and another would take its place. Thank god they didn't attack all at once, Henry knew full well how screwed he'd be if they did. Then again, he could be wrong.

They kept coming at him with no end. The pups that he'd strike down would eventually come back up in no time. Maybe running would be a best bet. But they're all too fast for Henry to outrun, and what if he led them straight to Frank and they begun to attack him? Henry recalls being able to cover for both Eileen and himself but with this much enemies it could be a real problem.

Suddenly pain surged through his leg and then his entire body when a pup bit into the back of his calve when he wasn't looking. It was Henry's turn to howl in pain as he waved his pipe down at the creature. It bit down into his flesh a little more before releasing his flesh and returning to it's siblings, fresh blood oozing from its mouth and now Henry's leg.

The blood must be having affect on the other pups, because now their noses are all raised up to the sweet smell of fresh blood in the air, then their attention were brought to Henry's wound. Their eyes flashed with hunger as drool fell heavily from their mouths, like children in a candy store.

The brunette's stomach dropped when he gazed at all the hungry looks._ Oh shit,_ was his only thought. Maybe now they'll attack more than one at a time.

Two growls grew louder behind him and he immediately swiveled his feet to turn around. The sudden act of movement proved to be a bad move. The rest of the pack all immediately flinched and charged at Henry.

Bodies ran in all directions and soon begun flying in the air with teeth flashing. Henry's only thoughts were a jumble of cuss words.

"Frank!" he cried, holding the pipe up to his face in defense and clenching his eyes shut. He's fought a lot of sniffers before but never were there this much. If there were he'd have a quicker death maybe but the pups lacked the strength to grant such a desire. No, the many teeth digging into his skin, tearing it apart while they fought for their share of the catch. He'd live long enough to feel all that. To feel a slow and painful death.

Henry anticipated the pups to sink into him but it didn't come. Instead, the growls had ceased and then there were the sounds of bodies hitting the ground. He opened one eye slowly. No creatures flew through the air anymore. They had all fallen limp to the ground, unmoving. All around him, every single pup had dropped to the ground, the movement of the living not present in anyone of them anymore.

The ache in his temples have cleared. Though it seemed safe, he didn't take any chances. He carefully limped through the bodies making sure that his foot didn't even come as close to an inch to any one of them. Henry's heart raced with paranoia of another creature. He nearly had a heart attack when he heard footsteps running in his direction.

"Henry!" a worried voice shouted. Frank came bursting through the fog, about ready to smash someone's face in. When he entered the scene, the dead pups laying dead around Henry's feet were the first things he noticed, next to seeing a pale man on the verge of passing out.

"What in the world?" Frank gasp at the sight and turned his focus to Henry. "Did…you do all this?" Doubt can be easily found in his words, he didn't believe Henry could be the violent enough to kill so much creatures. Then again, what does he REALLY know about Henry anyways?

"No, I," Henry breathed the words, still trying to slow his heart rate to a tolerable pace. He's been through situations like being surrounded by monsters and he's think he'd already be used to them. Guess some things never grow old. He finally found the words but it came in breaths. "They were about to…y'know, and then they just…dropped dead. I don't really know what happened to them."

Frank opened his mouth to let out a deep breath but the crimson on Henry's leg caught his eye. "Oh my god! Henry, y-your leg. It's bleeding," Frank stepped closer to observe the wound. Something tore through the fabric and bit into his flesh. It must be pretty deep considering the amount of blood there is.

Henry twisted his torso to take a look as well but the gesture made wound sting. He grunted and fell on one knee. It wasn't a problem the first few minutes but now he could actually feel his flesh sizzling beneath the blood and fabric like someone had lit it on fire. Definitely not a good sign.

"Christ, I think it's infected. We'd better do something about it. Think you can walk on that leg?"

"I don't…ARGH!" Henry grunted when he tried to lift his leg back up to a standing position. He felt the sizzling grow every inch he moved. Finally he shook his head at Frank.

"Alright," Frank tucked his wooden weapon into his belt then grabbed Henry's arm and placed it around his shoulders for support. He slowly lifted the man, being careful not to agitate his leg. "We gotta find some way to patch you up Henry. Is there a store near here, or a hospital?"

"Brookhaven," Henry mumble, his voice almost inaudible but Frank still caught it. "The hospital. It should be nearby. I'm not sure if we'll find anyone who can help us though."

"Well, we're gonna have to take the risk, or you could kiss that leg 'good-bye'" Frank with Henry in tow, trudged through the lot and back onto the streets.

---

"It should be through that alleyway," Henry breathed, pointing a weak finger straight ahead.

Frank proceeded ever so slowly. Henry's leg is first priority to him. With the monsters running about he doubt he'd be able to cover the both of them by himself. Even if he was still in his youth, he wouldn't have the strength.

After passing through a gate the continued down only to be blocked off by a dead end. Both men sighed in frustration. "Maybe we can cut through the building?" Frank suggested after seeing a door. "It's worth a shot."

Who ever came through the door last left it slightly ajar. Frank peered inside first to check for any threats.

"It's too dark to see anything in there," Frank grunted but then he heard a click and the room was lit. The source of the light came from the pocket-clip light from Henry's coat. He didn't seem to recall Henry ever bringing it but he didn't object, light is something he needed and he has it handy.

When deemed safe, both men entered the building. They assumed they were in a bar because of the crates of empty beer bottles found upstairs. But their guess proved to be half true when they stumbled through another spotted a bar at a corner of the dimly lit room, with booths on the opposite side while tables and chairs sat in front of a stage. If it weren't for the single pole on the stage then the men would have just stuck with their bar assumption.

Frank chuckled. "Oh lord," he muttered, while Henry's cheeks were glowing red. He's never been to a strip club before and he was hoping of keeping it that way but it so happens that he stumbles into one, in Silent Hill of all places.

Ignoring the surroundings, they continued through the exit and down some steps. Recognizing the street, Henry announced that they weren't too far from the hospital.

"How's your leg?" Frank asked."

"I don't feel the pain as much as before, but now I can't move it," Henry said.

"That can't be good at all. We'd better hurry,"

But then a faint throb greeting Henry's skull. No! Not now! his mind grumbled.

Frank spotted a large building and assumed it to be the hospital so picked up the pace. But then he spotted someone standing on the sidewalk, facing the hospital. Due to the fog clearing up a little, he immediately noticed the figure's blond hair and green jacket.

James turned his head to towards Frank and Henry, his face still showing no signs of emotion like before.

"Frank," Henry gasped.

"You see him too?" he felt the brunette nodding beside him.

James stared at Frank, unmoving. Then he spoke a single word. "Dad," Frank knew that voice. He felt happy and sad to hear his son's voice call him that name.

Then James slowly turned and walked away, but then he turned right, approaching the hospital.

Frank and Henry slowly followed after him. Now Frank believed that he could be his son. Henry saw him too so he couldn't have been imagining it.


	8. Chapter 8

The double doors creaked as Frank kicked them open. Just like the bar, it was dark and they could only see with the aid of Henry's flashlight. When they found no one in sight, Frank's heart swelled with disappointment. Henry immediately noticed it.

"Maybe he'll still be in the building?" Henry encouraged.

"Yeah, but it looks like a pretty big place. He could be any where,"

Frank called out through the halls in case anyone still worked in the hospital. After the first minute, he just brought Henry through the first door he saw. It brought them to a small room with a table, a few white cabinets with supplies in them and another white door. Frank set Henry against the table to check the cabinets for anything to treat an infection. Finally, he came across a white box with a red cross and the label 'First Aid' on it. He looked inside to find what he needed.

"Hey Frank," Henry called, followed by the sound of a door opening. "This room's a lounge. We can rest here."

The old man was horrified to see Henry on his feet despite his situation.

"You shouldn't be walking yet Henry," Frank rushed over to the brunette to help him with his balance. "Here, let me help you in." Grabbing his shoulders, Frank let Henry to one of the yellow chairs inside and sat him down gingerly.

Frank placed the first aid box down on the table in front of Henry. He opened it and took out a bottle of disinfectant, bandages and some gauze.

"Left your leg up on the able," Frank instructed. Henry could not feel his leg so he had to use his hands to do the job. Strong chemicals flew up both their noses when Frank undid the bottle of disinfectant and held it over Henry's leg.

"This is gonna sting for bit," Frank warned before he slowly poured the liquid onto Henry's wound. He hissed at first, furrowing his eyebrows and clenching his hands. The pain became more intense when Frank rubbed began to clean it with the gauze. When his body began to adjust to the pain, his body relaxed while he rested his head on the chair, closing his eyes.

The bandages were carefully wrapped around Henry's leg. He still felt a slight sting but now he didn't have to worry about losing his leg. Frank rested himself on a chair across from Henry.

"My hunch was right when I said this town was bad new," he sighed. "Let's rest up here before we move on."

Henry did not say anything.

"Henry, you alright?" Frank questioned, looking at the younger males features. He was breathing slowly and he had his head on the chair with his eyes closed. It amazed the old man to see some one who can sleep peacefully in a place like this. Poor guy has been through a lot so he did not blame him.

Then something caught the old man's eye. A white envelope stuck out from Henry's coat pocket. He stood up and walked over to examine the object.

The fact that Frank could be nosy at times bugged the hell out of James, especially when he entered high school. A single name was written on the envelope. His name.

Frank carefully retrieved it. It was thick and slightly wrinkled from Henry's pocket. He looked back at the snoozing man and thought whether or not he should open it. He could not do that to Henry, even if it is for him, he will have to wait until Henry gives it to him himself.

He returned the envelope back to Henry's coat and sat back down, but now he has to go on with wondering what it could be.

----

"_Beautiful," Henry whispered into the breeze as he gazed out at Toluca Lake, taking picture after pictures with his camera. He found the view to be utterly breath taking in his opinion. What made his day even more is the fact that the park was not crowded with tourist like he heard from a co-worker of his. _

_After finishing, he just leaned over the railing and just stared out at the lake. A few rays of sunlight had managed to pierce through the fog and shine on the lake. A peaceful yet hidden smile graced his lips as he just stood there and stared. _

_Then voices, followed by laughter filled his ears. He looked to the side, there on the other side of a hotdog stand is a young couple. A man, probably Henry's own age, with an affectionate arm around the woman beside him. _

"_It's so beautiful," the woman commented and the man responded with a smile of his own. _

"_Here," he said, pulling something out of his coat pocket. _

"_James! Not another one!"_

"_Oh come on," the man laughed. "One more picture won't hurt. Plus, I hear that it's really rare to get sun light in this town. Please Mary? You look really beautiful."_

_Mary grinned ear to ear at the comment. He would say that a lot to her but for some reason, it never gets old. She couldn't help but to surrender to her husband's request. After fixing her hair and dress, James lifted his disposable camera and took a picture. _

"_It's gonna come out perfect, I know it," James said, walking over to Mary and kissing her gently on the lips._

_Henry's cheeks turned red at the sight and he turned his attention back to the lake. _

"_Easy James! We're not the only ones here," Mary motioned to Henry's figure. _

"_Oh hey, perfect," James said and walked around the hot-dog stand to Henry is. "Excuse me, sir?" Henry turned around to face James who still had his disposable camera in hand. "I was wondering if you could take a picture of my wife and me?"_

"_Sure, I'd be happy to," Henry quietly took the man's camera. James waved Mary over and they stood by the railing with their backs facing the lake. The fog had almost covered the lake entirely, smothering what little sunlight was left. Henry held the camera to his face. "Ready?" he called._

_The couple nodded and smiled. Henry pressed the button to release the shutter but the camera didn't make a click like it should. He tried the button again but still no click. _

"_Something wrong?" James asked._

"_I think you might be out of film," Henry responded, checking the dial. The film count showing a bold zero. "Yeah, you're out of film. Sorry,"_

_James sighed with disappointment. "It's alright," he said._

_Henry handed the camera back to him and then he remembered his camera. _

"_If you'd like, I could use my camera," Henry offered. _

"_Oh, if it's not any trouble,"_

"_Not at all, it'd be my pleasure to, and after we could go to the store and get it developed right away." _

_The smile returned to James' face and he stood beside Mary again, his arm around her waist once more. Henry held his camera up, centering the happy couple in his view finder. _

"_Ready?" He called, and then released the shutter._

----

Henry finally came to from his sleep. The scent of the disinfectant still lingered in the air. He stretched his limbs and noticed his leg still on the table. He leaned forward to check the bandages that are securely wrapped around his leg.

"Hnn, you awake Henry?" Frank asked. "You feeling better?"

"How long was I out?" Henry asked.

Frank lifted his arm to check his watch. "Not long, about twenty minutes." Then Frank rose from his seat, picking up his wooden plank from the table. "We'd better get going. Think you can walk?"

"Yeah," Henry rose from his seat slowly. His wounded leg stung only a little but the pain is a lot more tolerable. Taking one last look around he said "Let's go."

The two men exited through the nearest door and wound up back in the lobby hallway.

"Here," Frank said, offering a small, brown bottle. "Drink some of this stuff."

Henry quietly took the bottle and examined the red cross on the label. _Nutrition drink_ he thought to himself. This brought him back to the times he just down a bottle when he felt weak and the bland stale aftertaste it would leave behind.

The bottle was about half empty. _Frank must have drank some himself_. He unscrewed the white cap and slowly drank the rest. Henry's eye twitched in response to the bitter taste but he still welcomed it.

"I was looking around the place while you slept and I found that one bottle in the mini fridge. Kinda old but it still works wonders," Frank commented.

When Henry finished, he screwed the cap back on and placed the empty bottle on the counter. He could already feel his strength coming back and the pain in his leg almost seemed faint.

Frank and Henry proceeded to searching the vicinity. Any door they across has either a broken lock or locked from the other side. They tried the elevator but it didn't respond. _Surprise, surprise, Henry was not at all fazed by these inconveniences but Frank on the other hand was showing some irritation. _

"Damn it," he grunted.

"Maybe there's another elevator or some stairs we can use?" Henry suggested.

"Hn, yeah. Let's keep looking. One of these doors have got to work,"

The hospital had so far been empty to their favor. Finally, they found a door that wasn't jammed . It led to a stairwell going up to the second floor of the building. The stairs leading down, probably into the basement had been blocked by a grating and several stacks of cardboard boxes. Henry and Frank both dreaded what awaits them above but if they wanted answers they were going to have to ascend into the unknown.

----

**I might've half-assed this chapter too so I apologize for that. I'll be editing soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

Dead silence is what greeted them at the top of the stairs and in the second floor hall, but neither didn't buy it. They waited for even the slightest of movement in the darkness. Inch by inch, they moved down the hall, muting their footsteps on the tile floor.

After what seemed like ages of moving slowly, the men found no traces of life.

"Think it's clear here," Frank sighed, relaxing his tense shoulders. "This place sure gives me the creeps." Henry nodded, agreeing as well.

They walked through the dark corridor, finding no life present. No doctors, no nurses, no patients but the men wondered to themselves if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Almost every door was either locked or barricaded. Frank reached through the barricade of boards, chairs, and boxes to test the door.

"Locked," he huffed and stood back. "We're getting no where here. Let's try another floor,"

The men ascended the stairs once again. To their frustration, the third floor had been locked. Irritation grew in Frank as he hit the door with no effort and sighed.

"There's still the fourth floor. Maybe we'll get lucky there," Henry suggested, placing a assuring hand on the old man's shoulder who nodded his head.

"Let's hope so. I'm getting sick of locked doors. That's all there ever seems to be here," Frank lead them once gain and they ascended the stairs once more to the next level. Frank's mood changed when he tested the door and found it unlocked.

Frank pulled the door open and instead of a hallway, the men found themselves at the roof top of Brook Haven. It appeared that night had fallen while they rested. Instead of the fog, the area is pitch black.

Both men stayed close because neither would be able to see anything without a flash light. For a while, it seemed that the roof top held nothing of interest while they followed along the fence barrier until they found an old diary laying in a corner.

Henry examined the book but it had been damaged to the point where the text could not be read. Carefully flipping through the brittle pages, something fell out and slid by Frank's feet.

"What the-" Frank looked down and saw two white squares. One with a glossy surface, reflecting the light from their flashlight. The other one looked more like an index card. By how clean it is, it looked fairly new. Frank bent down and picked up the index card first. He turned in over in his hand. It appears to be what looked like a child's map drawn on with a green crayon. On the top are the words 'Roof

Top. Frank chuckled at it, then noticed an area marked with a red triangle.

Then, Henry drew Frank's attention to the glossy white square. Henry had turned it over to reveal the picture of a woman. It was obviously taken in silent hill because he recognized the fog and lake behind her. The woman smiled pleasantly at the camera, her cheeks were slightly pink.

Henry ran this woman through his head, feeling that he somehow knows her. _Where have I seen her before?_

"Mary?" Frank gasped. "That's Mary! I remember this photo," Frank paused to run his hand through his gray hair. "James kept this photo with him no matter what. When she got sick, James would stare at this for hours."

"If James kept this with him, then he must have somehow dropped it here," Then Henry turned to Frank. "What's that?" Pointing at the index card in Frank's hand.

"Oh, this. A kid drew a map of the rooftop," then Frank held it up to look at the triangle. "Something's here though. Let's take a look at it. If it's nothing, then let's leave."

"Alright,"

They followed the design of the child's map, first figuring out the lay out of the roof top. There were thicker line, probably indicating a door. Finally they found where the triangle is and investigated the area. It had been in a small area in between two walls and a rusted fence on the end.

Frank looked around the walls and on the ground for anything of interest while Henry checked the fence. While holding the flash light for Frank so that he could see, Henry placed a hand on the rusted fence and tested it. He felt it budge a little.

_Leaning on this thing could mean bad news. Feels like it could fall with enough force._

"Damn, I don't see anything here," Frank sighed, his irritation crawling back to him. "Let's just go. Maybe we can check those other floors before we leav-"

Suddenly, a loud metallic scraping can be heard close by. Henry paled when he turned and saw a familiar figure behind Frank.

The Pyramid man raised his sword, ready to strike.

"FRANK!" Henry cried, jumping forward and pushing Frank aside who hit the wall.

Henry's feet left the ground as he was hurled backwards into the fence. Dazed and confused, the brunette did not feel the world turn as he fell over the ledge with the rusted fence. While still in mid air, he saw the Pyramid Man looking down at him, the tip of his helmet pointing down at Henry.

ORORORORORORO

Frank could feel his limbs complaining. He definitely is too old for this. He wondered as to why Henry would just shove him into the wall like that.

Finally he realized how dark it had gotten.

"Henry?" Frank called out. Nothing but silence. "Henry, where are you?"

Frank, while hugging the wall, walked over to where Henry stood. He held his hand forward to touch the fence but he felt nothing but air. The fence is gone. Henry is gone… Oh no. He knew all too well what had happened.

Peaking over the ledge, he could see a speck pf light shining up at him. Frank called down to the younger male but he heard no response.

Something must have spooked Henry. Something or someone was up there with him and Henry must have seen who ever sent him over like that.

They might still be here. Frank didn't hear the door open or close and there is only the one door.

ORORORORORO

"_Are you sure it's alright for us to stay for a while?" a male voice in the apartment kitchen spoke._

"_It's alright. You and your daughter stay here for as long as you want,"_

"_It's just that, I don't want us to be a bother to you and your son,"_

"_Not at all! We'd be happy to have you stay here. It's been a while anyways,"_

"_Yeah it has,"_

_A teenage Henry sat on the living room sofa, picked up on the adults conversation while cleaning his camera lens. He had a photo assignment in the morning and he wanted it to be in top shape._

"_I see you got yourself another little girl. How's your oldest doing by the way?"_

"_She's uh…she's attending college out of town. She tells me that she's doing fine in Pleasant River," he said, Henry immediately noticed the un-evenness in his tone and he was sure his mother did too._

"_Really? What is she studying?"_

"_She hasn't really decided yet. She's thinking about majoring in…maybe religion,"_

"_How about writing? That way she could be a writer just like her father," Ms. Townshend teased._

_There was laughter for a moment, then it went away to make room for another subject. _

"_So, how are you and Henry holding up?" The man asked._

_Ms. Townshend was quiet for a moment. Henry had been in the middle of delicately wiping his lens dry then he paused to have a better listen._

_Then he heard his mother sigh. _

"_He hasn't talked about it. Not once. I don't think he even remembers,"_

"_What makes you say that?"_

"_Years ago, he asked me if he had a father,"_

"_What did you say to him?"_

"_I didn't know what to say to him. The right thing to say. I just told him that everyone has a father. He didn't say anything after that."_

_Then Henry felt a sharp poke on his side that made him jump nearly a foot in his seat. He turned to a little girl around the age of five standing beside him curiously. She wore denim shorts, a bright orange tank-top and brown boots. She had a head full of blond hair, cut very short. If it weren't for the hair clips with pink bunnies on them, Henry would have mistaken her for a boy._

"_What are you doing?" she asked, pointing at the camera lens in his hand._

"_Oh, uh, I'm just cleaning my lens." Henry replied._

"_What's it for?"_

"_It's for my camera,"_

_Mean while, the adults continued their conversation. Henry struggled to listen due to little girl distracting him._

"_I just can't believe he could've done all that to Henry. I mean, he's had a temper for as long as I can remember but he was never violent. Why would he do such a thing?"_

_Ms. Townshend sighed. "A lot has just been going on for your brother at the time,"_

"_Yeah, but that's no excuse to go and beat up your own son. Jesus, if I ever found myself hurting Cheryl I'd never forgive myself for it."_

"_What about Heather?"_

"_Heather too, but my point is what came over him? I mean, when Henry was born I couldn't stop hearing him boast about how the two of you created the perfect son in the world."_

_Ms. Townshend couldn't help but to laugh at that reminder. _

"_I remember that. Every time Henry did something for the first time, he'd call you up and brag about it,"_

"_Ha! His first steps to the very first words he spoke. And don't get me started with his first camera,"_

"_Henry's first camera. I remembered how he'd never stop taking pictures with it. Our neighbors would scold him every time he took a picture without their permission," There was light laughter for a moment. "Runs in your family doesn't it?"_

"_What does?"_

"_Someone is always born with a creative talent. You, writing. For Hewie, it was drawing. And Henry, it's photography."_

"_Sort of runs in our blood I guess,"_

_Henry barely heard a single word they said because he was too busy answering the little girl's questions._

_Finally, the man emerged from the kitchen and the little girl immediately flew into his arms. He lifted her from the floor and held her closely in his arms while she wrapped her arms around his neck._

"_Daddy!" she squeaked into her father's chest._

ORORORORO

The image of a father holding his child lingered in his mind a while longer. He smiled gently and kissed his daughter on her forehead, ticklish laughter escaping her and a big, innocent grin lingered on her lips.

The child. The father. Something in Henry's chest began to ache. Tears welling up behind his eye-lids as he slumbered for moments more. He felt his mind screaming. Longing. He remembered feeling this way every time a father came along with his child. His friends had fathers. It seemed everyone from his child hood had a father.

He shifted around were he laid and something rough and jagged bit into his skin. That was enough for reality to finally pull him out of his dream state. Slowly he opened his eyes.

The flash light shown over the huge hole Henry had created whilst falling down. That's right. He suddenly remembered the pyramid man sending him over the ledge of the roof, taking the fence down with him.

Laying in the darkness, Henry just laid on the fence staring up into the hole. Searching through the darkness of the sky, hoping to see at least one star twinkling. Finally, he lifted a shoulder to sit upright. He had found this hard to do because of how weak and sore he is.

"Damn, kid. That's gotta be smarts," a low voice chuckled in the darkness. Henry spotted a small ember moving as a man approached him. Henry removed the flash light from his pocket and flashed it in the man's direction. "Hey! You mind?" He hissed, throwing a hand in front of his face to block the light.

"Oh! S-sorry," Henry faced the light on the ground, looking down himself in embarrassment.

"Use your head kid. We're in the dark so of course it would hurt my eyes," the man grumbled under his breath before taking a drag from his cigarette before throwing it on the ground and extinguishing it. "You gonna get up or what?"

Henry immediately shuffled to his feet, slightly haunch-over from being sore. He finally took a better look at the man and after seeing his appearance, something tugged at the back of his mind, telling him he looked familiar. He looked about the same height and has the body mass as Henry but slightly thinner. They both shared the same brown shaggy hair but the man's hair was longer, his bangs reaching bellow his eyes but pushed off to the side. He wore a grey button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow and left open to reveal an off-black wife beater. Several dark stains decorated the legs of his jeans.

Henry just couldn't help but to stare at the man. Other than his hair and clothes, he felt as though he was starring at a mirror. They both shared the same facial structure. The same thin lips, the same long-pointed nose, the same green eyes. This man could be mistaken for his twin brother.

He also reminded Henry of something else but he forgot what but his mind processing was interrupted by a question.

"You're staring," the man pointed out. Henry responded by looking away and softly apologized. The man crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "So what brings you here? Brookhaven isn't really an ideal tourist location."

Henry looked back at the man slowly and hesitantly. "I'm…looking for someone…A man with a green jacket…" He went on to ask if he had seen who he described.

"Nope. He a friend or something?"

Henry shook his head. "He disappeared a while back with his wife and I'm just helping his dad look for him."

"Speaking of that, you wouldn't happen to see a little kid running around here would you?"

Henry blinked. "I-I've seen a little boy. He was at the apartments,"

The man got off the wall and took a step towards Henry, his face fearfully serious. "How long ago was this? What was he doing? Is he there now?"

"H-he ran off. As soon as he saw me in the room with him," The man sighed, scratching his head frustratingly and groaned. "Are you his father?"

"Yeah. Ran out of the house without saying anything," then he scoffed. "Took my gun too,"

Something clicked in Henry's mind. A gun. He remembered the little boy crying with a gun on his lap. Henry reached behind him feeling the gun but not taking it out. A part of him wanted to return it to the man while another told him to keep it. He didn't know what to side with but before he could, the man had walked passed him without saying a word or glancing at his direction.

"W-wait!" Henry called out, reaching out to this shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"Looking for my kid. What else?" he scoffed and turned again to leave.

"You shouldn't go alone," Henry stressed.

"I'll be fine. I made it this far by myself without a scratch," the man turned again and looked at the fence behind Henry. He also noticed the bloody bandage wrapped around his leg. "You know what? You'd better stick by me."

"R-really?"

"Yeah. You look messed up enough already. If this happened to you when you were with your friend, I can't imagine what could happen if you were by yourself."

A part of Henry suddenly felt irked by the man's remark. I can survive just as well as anybody, he wanted to admit but looking again at the man, he was untouched. Not a single cut or scratch adorned his body.

"C'mon. Let's get a move on," the man turned to open door and stepped through it. Henry hurried beside him but then he paused, remembering his pipe. He quickly ran back to retrieve it and was behind the man in a quick second.

"My name's Henry by the way," Henry suddenly announced.

He heard a faint chuckled from within the man. Then, without looking back him, he replied, "I'm Hewie."

**Sorry about the long wait. It's just getting a little hard to type without getting a writer's block halfway these days. Anyways, I'll be editing this later and hope you enjoy. Thanks you :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Note: I just thought I'd write about Eileen for a change. Enjoy.**

Fog. Fog and trees. She opened her eyes and those were the first things she could see.

_It's this place again. What is this place?_ Her mind began pondering as she wrapped her arms around her small frame to protect against the chilling breeze. She had seen this forest, this fog so many times already. For months, this is what would greet her as she slipped into dream land.

Eileen took a step forward like she would usually do but stumbled forward and nearly fell on her face. She turned to see what had tripped her. A new edition to her dream.

A boating dock over a vast lake. _What? Was this always here? Huh, well this is ne_w, She thought to herself, slowly turning around to face the trees again. She didn't know what awaited her out on the lake. She would find out the next time she dreamt. For now, the forest awaited her.

She would keep on walking on the same path. Usually she never found the end of it either usually because some outer force would be there to wake her up before she can. But no matter what, the wind pushed her to keep moving along it.

Today, nothing had awoken her. Looking ahead, the path led up to an old looking church. The wind blowing behind urged her to enter.

Eileen pushed the heavy doors of the church with ease. She gazed inside to see nothing but darkness awaiting her. Then her eyes went to the ceiling of the room. The only source of light aside from the doorway cam from a single stain-glass window. The design appeared to be of a heavenly woman wearing white surrounded by children. In the woman's arms is an infant wrapped in a white sheet, its small arms can be seen poking out of its covers as it reaches upwards. The woman looks down at the infant, a smile gracing her lips, giving the appearance and glow of a mother.

She continued to gaze at the window in marvel. She thought of how Henry would have wanted to take pictures of the woman and child. Then her gaze went from the woman to the children surrounding her. A chill ran down her spine when she took a good look at the children.

At first she thought they were just kids happily gathering around the woman but the stained glass surrounding them are a deep red and the shape of it resembled flames. The children's faces were contorted in agony and reaching up from the flames, as if begging the woman to save them from the pain. Save them from their suffering.

Taking another moment to stare at the window, her eyes studied each and every child. Then her eyes paused on two particular children. One boy, to the left of the woman, grasping at her white gown while crying out had familiar blonde hair and green eyes. She didn't know why but as she stares at the boy more and more she thought of Frank.

The other child, to the right of the woman also looks familiar. In fact, he looks a lot like Henry. He had the same scruffy, brown hair and green eyes. He too called to the woman to save him but compared to the other children she seemed more calmer about his situation. His face didn't show as much agony as the other kids. He seemed almost submissive, just like Henry would be whenever there would be trouble. He never fights against it, he would just face it straight forward.

Then Eileen nearly jumped out of her skin when someone had appeared in front of her. He stood on the center of the light with his back to her but she had already recognized who that was.

"Henry?" she gasped. Then her heart leapt when the man responded. He glanced over his shoulder. Seeing Eileen, Henry smiled and turned to face her fully. "Henry!" she cried, sprinting towards him, ready to leap into his arms.

Eileen's body crashed into Henry's and she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his chest, listening for his heart beat like she usually would whenever they held each other. She felt an arm wrap around her waist while a hand gently stroked her head.

Eileen nuzzled her head while she settled herself in Henry's arms. Dream or no dream, she felt safe in his arms no matter what.

"I'm so glad I found you," Eileen whispered, closing her eyes.

Henry's fingers gently combed through Eileen's hair. He didn't usually do that but she didn't object. Then she felt his breath by her ear as he leaned in to whisper to her.

"I finally found you," he cooed. "I'm so happy I found you. Now everything's gonna be alright. It'll be alright… Mary."

Eileen's eye's shot open. _Mary?_

The first thing she took notice to is that Henry's clothes were different now. Instead of the usual white dress shirt, he wore a gray polo shirt with a forest green jacket with several patches sewn on.

She finally gazed upwards. Who held her isn't Henry, but a different man who blinked at her.

Eileen let out a scream and tried to free herself from this man's arms. She began to struggle frantically but the man tightened his vice around her.

"Mary! Mary, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Let me go!" Eileen demanded, continuing her struggle. Hearing her demand, he complied he released her, hesitantly to do so. Eileen backed away from the man who looked utterly confused.

The man took a step towards Eileen and without a word she turned and ran for the door.

"Mary! Wait!" He called out after her and gave chase. "Mary please!"

Fear kept the man's calls from being heard as Eileen ran straight for the exit. It seemed farther than usual but she knew she was getting closer. But to add to her troubles she could see the doors slowly closing. She tried to pick up her pace before the doors closed on her. She knew she was running already at her fastest but the doors seem to be getting closer only inch by inch.

They were already half-way closed. She could feel the breeze of the outside air on her face. She's nearly there.

"Wait!" the man behind her called out to her in a final attempt to make her stop. Eileen just ignored the voice and kept moving.

She reached a hand forward to the outside world. Almost there! The doors were still open enough to squeeze through.

Finally she made it out, the rustling of the trees greeting he arrival. She though about running back to the docks but the doors are just about to close and there is no way that stranger could possibly follow her now.

"Wait," Eileen can hear him call out to her but she did not turn to face him. She hugged her arms closer to herself and closed her eyes, waiting for any kind of force to pull her back to the real world. "Please! Don't leave me behind! Eileen!" he cried.

"What?" she finally turned, seeing the doors barely open. Behind them she could see a frightened Henry, the most she had ever seen him scared. He looked at Eileen, his eyes pleading for her.

"Eileen…don't leave me," he whimpered. "Please, I-I need you."

Eileen ran back to the door. "Henry! Hang on! I'll help you!" she assured. She found her footing on the ground and tried to push the doors open but they pushed her back instead. "Henry! Please, hang on!"

Henry's face slowly began to disappear from behind the door. Eileen began pounding on the door, desperate to get him out. In the past she always needed him and he was always there for her. Now he needed her.

"Eileen!" Henry cried out before the doors were fully closed, finally separating the two from each other.

"Henry!" Eileen called out to him, pounding on the doors with both her fists. "Henry! HENRY!"

The wind came blowing through the trees once more, now more powerful. Eileen paid no attention to nature. She kept hitting the doors, calling out Henry's name over and over. Her throat began to dry up and her hands were beginning to turn red. Finally, she stopped, sinking to the ground in defeat and shame.

She pressed her forehead to the doors and banged on it one more time while breaking into tears. "Open up," she sobbed to the door. "Open up…give him back…"

"Eileen? A voice whispered on the other side.

Eileen looked up, hearing the voice she quickly wiped the tears away.

"Henry?" she called to the door. "Henry, is that you?"

"Eileen…no, you're not…" she can hear him say. She was tempted to call his name again until he continued on. "Who are…hnnn!" Henry groaned inside. Eileen pressed her ear to the door to listen in. All she could hear is Henry's voice. "What's going…AHH!" Henry's voice began to strain, like he was in pain. "AHH! MY HEAD!"

"Henry!" Eileen called out to him again, louder this time but her calls were left un-answered. Henry is struggling with something inside and she didn't know what. Not knowing what is going on made her feel useless. Not being able to do anything about it made her feel even more useless.

"N-no! It can't be! Y-you're…" Henry's voice trailed off followed by a loud thud. Everything inside grew silent.

"Henry?" Eileen said softly, fresh tears welling in her eyes. She wanted the doors to open so badly. She wanted to see Henry again. "Henry," she knocked on the door foolishly, still thinking that someone would finally answer her calls. She knew far too well that no one would but she pushed that though aside and prayed for the doors to let her in. If she couldn't save Henry, the least she could do is be with him.

Suddenly, she felt the doors move. Quickly, she got up to her feet and watch it open. Her heart swam with joy as she took this to be a miracle. Then they stopped moving, leaving it only ajar. Eileen tried to open the doors further but they would not budge and the space it too narrow for her to squeeze through.

After a few more pushed, she stopped to take a peak inside to check on Henry. She could see darkness and the light from the stain-glass window, but no Henry.

Eileen called out his name into the darkness inside. Then, she emitted a blood curdling scream when she felt a cold hand grasp her hand. A pair of green, blood shot eyes appearing in front of her.

Eileen woke fast, feeling her heart hit her chest. She laid on her side on the couch, dosing off a few hours ago while reading a book that now laid on the floor facing down.

Feeling the pinpricks on her arm she rolled on her back and stared at the white ceiling, the ceiling fan spinning in circles. She sat up, wiping the sweat from her head. Her clothing clung to her small frame and the apartment was hot as hell, making her feel somewhat disgusted and irked by the heat.

Wanting to change her clothes, she placed a foot on the floor, only to have something warm and furry brush up against her skin. The blood hound she and Henry adopted laid on the wooden floor beside the couch. It felt Eileen's foot and lifted it's head and turned it towards her. It's droopy eyes stared at Eileen who smiled softly and stroked its head.

"Afternoon Markus," she greet, scratching behind Markus' ears, who never seemed to get tired from the contact.

When she stopped Markus let out a faint whimper, begging her to continue as he would to anyone. Eileen laughed. "Now, now. Some other time, okay?" Markus stared at her with sad eyes. "That's not gonna work with me."

She patted his head briefly and stood up. She stretched her arms overhead to chase away any drowsiness left in her system and let them drop to her side.

The apartment, aside from Markus' whimpering, is awfully quiet. She surveyed the living room for Henry, who should be in the kitchen making lunch because it was his turn this week.

"Hm, Henry?" Eileen called out, getting no answer. "Where is he?"

Deciding that standing around will get her no where, she wandered into the bedroom hoping to find him there. Also, a new change of clothes were in order.

The bedroom had been as empty as the living room. She sighed, then went over to the closet and threw open the wooden doors and changed into a pair of denim shorts and a white tank-top. Markus, who follow quietly after Eileen, sat by the door way. After she finished, the blood hound followed Eileen once more as she made her way to the bed to lay down.

She plopped down, grunting as she landed on her side. The heat of the sun barring down on her back from the large window. With cooler clothing, it became more tolerable but still, she scooted away from the light and into the comfort of the shade. Markus whined, waiting for Eileen's permission to jump onto the bed and later did so when she willed it. He spun around before curling up next to Eileen's feet.

"Where are you Henry?" she groaned, turning around to lay on her back, her left arm stretch out under the sun light. A bright twinkle on her hand catching her attention. She turn her head and smiled, moving her hand slightly as she watched the sparkle dance under the brilliant light. Then she brought her left hand in and held it dearly to her chest. She closed her eyes and sighed.

_Where ever you are, just come home safely._


	11. Chapter 11

**I know it's been a while, but it's been getting harder and harder to write anything lately. BUT, I've managed to complete one chapter. I know it's short and I know it could be written better but rest assure that I have not given up on this story!**

_Henry flew back when Walter lashed out with his pipe. Having used up most his energy fighting the various creatures and maneuvering obstacles, he felt that he had no more strength left to fight for not only his life, but for Eileen's life as well. He peered over his shoulder and panic ran through him once more when he seen her take another step towards immanent death._

_"Get up," Walter ordered, holding the other end of his pipe at Henry's chest. The brunette just stared back into the green orbs of his attacker. Despite exhaustion, he noticed something in Walter's eyes. They weren't as cold and maniacal as before when he would chase him through the other worlds. They seemed different to Henry for some reason, almost pleading._

_"Get up Henry," Walter ordered again, this time holding the pipe to Henry's face and taking a threatening step closer. "You must fight."_

_Henry shook his head, loosening the grip on axe. "I…I can't…anymore…" His body begged and screamed for rest but his mind nagged at him to go. Once again, he looked over at Eileen, staring blankly ahead. He wondered if she could see him right now, trying to save her. Would she ever forgive him if he gave up and let her die?_

_"You must," this time, Walter had a slight desperation in his voice. He too would look at Eileen to see how far she is from the rotating machine sitting in a pool of blood. Then he turned back to the man before him. "You must keep fighting me."_

_"Why? Why are you doing this? To me? T-to… her?" Walter stared down at Henry, searching his thoughts for the answer. Then he lowered his pipe, but taking it's place is his pistol. _

_"If you won't fight, then what hope is there for the three of us?" He stated, his voice bitter and sad._

_"Three of us? What do you mean by that?" Henry asked, sitting up while trying to scoot away from Walter's gun._

_"It will be explained in all due time," Walter simply stated. Henry still held the look of confusion in his face. Walter needed to motivate Henry into fighting him without revealing too much before Eileen completes her part of the ritual, which won't be long. "Allow me to put it this way. If I win, mother will awaken, and your spirits will trapped here for eternity. If you win," Walter gave a soft smile. "Then everyone wins."_

_Both men looked at Eileen once more to see her take another step, finally descending down the steps to the pool of blood. Henry turned back to Walter, his eyes now holding another emotion. Urgency. _

_Slowly, the brunette rose to his feet. His body ached, his cuts and scratches stung but pushing them aside, he raised his axe. _

_Walter could have sighed in relief in that moment but he could not. He would not allow himself to show any weakness yet, but he could not hide the fact that hope glimmered in his seemingly dead eyes._

It still bothers Henry on many degrees on why Walter urged him to keep fighting him that day. He assured him that everyone would win if Henry defeated him and he did. But how does Walter win by losing?

The thought had randomly reared it's head and has been tugging at Henry's mind, even as he walked through Brookhaven with his new companion, Hewie. Moments ago, they stopped at a double door. When he had been there with Frank, it would not budge and it needed a code to open. When he returned with Hewie, he fished a piece of paper out of his pocket covered in numbers with various codes and scribbles on it. He searched for the right one and soon enough the door clicked and they walked through.

A long, dark hallway with a series of doors stretched in front of them. Hewie whistled. "It's a good thing I ran into you. It's dark as hell in here," he approached the closes door from them and tried the knob. "No good," he announced before moving to the next one. "I'll check these rooms. Watch my back."

Henry only nodded and gripped his pipe. No aches invaded his head yet but he still felt tense. He watched Hewie move from one door to another. When one would open he would just walk inside, taking no caution of what could be awaiting in the dark.

"_This man_," Henry said softly so his twin would not hear. There are questions he wanted answers to from Hewie but to Henry, he seems like the kind of guy you would avoid eye-contact with on the street. From what he gathered, Hewie is here looking for his son, same with Frank.

Then his thoughts went back to the little boy crying the apartments. Begging for forgiveness with a gun on sitting on his lap. He wondered what the child might have done to run away from home. Thinking back to how easily annoyed Hewie can be, he can only hope nothing serious happened between them. That is if they turn out to be father and son.

Henry took a deep breath. "Do you live here?"

Hewie glanced over his shoulder to look at Henry before looking back. "Yeah, why?"

"I thought this town was uninhabited?"

"There's some folks living here and there," Hewie tested a door. When it didn't open, he kick it with annoyance. "Though, we get people moving out of town often," he muttered. "I don't blame them though. A lot of weird shit happens in this town."

"What do you mean?"

"People disappear from time to time and they never turn up again, but I guess that's just on this side of the town. They got the real crazies up in Old Silent Hill," he scoffed, shaking his head. "Bunch of religious old nuts there."

Hewie found a door that worked and stepped into the room. Unlike the others, someone draped the walls with plastic sheets. All the beds are pushed off to the side. Henry found himself entering the room too. He spotted something out of place underneath a bed in the corner and picked it up. A clipboard containing information on a patient.

"Margaret Fullers, age 16. Patient diagnosed with psychotic depression and obsessive cleaning disorder. Family history states that she came from a family that valued strictly "cleanliness." She witnessed her mother swallow bleach after eating "something filthy" her neighbors gave them and died afterwards." Henry paused to wipe the sweat from his upper lips, his mind filled with horrible images.

"That's horrible," Hewie said softly, who paused to listen to the patient record. "What else does it say?"

"Usually exhibits pleasant behavior but can be agitated when faced with the slightest hint of messes or disorder. Would spend hours cleaning her room despite the irritation of the other patients living with her. Claims to have visions of her mother. They began as nightmares but later, started seeing her during waking hours.

On the 5th of May, while the janitor came by to mop the floors at night, Margaret stole a bottle of ammonia and bleach. From what we gathered, she mixed the two agents together to use to clean her room. She and the two patients sleeping in the same room were all found dead in the morning from the fumes."

After finishing, both men remained silent and still in the room, Henry staring at the plastic sheets draped over the wall. After what felt like an eternity, he noticed something odd behind one of the drapes.

"What's that?" Henry asked, pointing at the odd shape in the wall. Hewie walked over to the wall, taking a handful of the drapes in each hand, he tore it from the wall with ease. Tossing the sheet to the side haphazardly, both men approached the wall. An circular hole the size of a basketball is what they peered at. Henry took the light from his pocket and held it up to see what is inside.

A small, plastic, off-white bottle sat inside. Hewie reached inside and took the un-labeled bottle. He looked at Henry before un-doing the cap. Right away, the strong scent of bleach flew up their nostrils, making them both flinch. Hewie immediately re-did the cap and held the bottle away.

"Never did like this stuff," he muttered.

"Why would this be in the wall?" Henry asked. "You think that patient left it here?"

"How far back was that record dated?" Henry checked the file again. His eyes scanning for the date. "There's a month and a day, but no year."

Hewie was about to place the bottle back in the hole before Henry stopped him. He looked at him with a strange look that read what the hell? Henry had a feeling that told him to bring it. He's had it before. His gut told him to bring a volley ball, a cue-ball and a stuffed animal scattered about before. Although Eileen had question his motive, those items were the keys to leaving the world and moving to the next.

"This might come in handy or something," Henry explained his feeling. Hewie stared at him in disbelief.

"You can't be serious? What the hell are we going to do with a bottle of bleach?" Hewie shook the bottle for emphasis, its contents swishing inside.

"Just trust me on this," Hewie stared at Henry, knitting his eye-brows before sighing, then pocketing the small bottle.

"If this stuff ruins my pants, I'll punch you in the teeth," Henry grew tense once more. Something had rocketed through him, like that feeling whenever you felt you might have said or done the wrong thing to someone. He quickly brushed the feeling aside as they made their way out the door and into the hallway.

Henry closed the door behind him. As soon as it clicked, a blood-curdling scream went off inside. Both men, taken by surprise by the scream, back away from the door and stared at it. After the scream died down, they heard some faint rustling before the familiar silence filled the air once more. Henry and Hewie then turned to each other, both remaining silent but their faces said it all.

_What the hell was that?_

_The hell I know... the hell I even want to know... _

Both debated on whether or not they should look inside to see what had made the scream, but both decided it was for the best that they moved on to the next room.

**Will edit later. R&R please and thank you! :)**


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